We had brunch with TM and some family friends this past weekend. I wanted to contribute something, but I was still getting my combobules in order after the big camping trip and feeling a bit disorganized and disoriented. I wanted to pick something that would use up eggs -- since we still have so many! -- and I wanted to be able to do it without having to go to the grocery store.

We had gotten a small package of ground pork to use as bait for a lost cat who's been chasing our chickens. TF used a bit of it in the trap, but I figured that I could use the rest to make sausage for the quiche. And I knew we had an open jar of roasted bell peppers in the fridge that needed to be used, so I figured this would be a good way to use them up. Sadly, the peppers had shifted in the fridge at some point and the top started poking out of the liquid, so they were spoiled when I went to use them. Luckily we had some fresh bell peppers on hand so, after a trip under the broiler, we had roasted bell peppers again!

Normally I would have used regular yellow onions for this, but we were all out, so I ended up using Vidalias instead. I was also all out of mozzarella cheese, so I used a low-fat mild cheddar instead. And, because my starter was very hungry, I ended up trying out a sourdough pastry recipe for the crust rather than my usual shortcrust. All-in-all it worked out great though. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the quiche sliced beautifully which was helpful for serving.

Sausage, Onion, and Roasted Bell Pepper Quiche

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 200-250g Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil (optional)
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large (or 2 smaller) roasted bell peppers, diced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. half-and-half (10%)
• 1 (23cm/9") pie shell, blind baked
• 1/2 c. grated mozzarella (or mild cheddar)
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Cook the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. At this point you're supposed to pour off any fat from the sausage, wipe out the skillet, add the oil, and continue from there. I decided to omit the oil and just cooked the onion in the sausage drippings.
4. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.
6. Add the roasted bell pepper, salt, and pepper.
7. Stir in the cooked sausage, remove from heat, and set aside.
8. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light.
9. Mix in the half-and-half.
10. Spoon the sausage mixture into the pie shell.
11. Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan on top.
12. Pour in the egg mixture.
13. Bake at 190°C (375°F) until eggs are just set (30-35 minutes).
14. Cut into wedges and serve.